Transportation Technology and New Mobility Options

City of Transportation Master Plan

Background Paper Series Guelph Transportation Master Plan

Moving Guelph Forward

Guelph is growing and how we move This paper is part of a series of around our city is changing. As a result, background papers intended to we are exploring transportation options communicate information, key trends, to make our city move better in every and concepts. These will form the way. Through the Transportation Master foundation of and set the strategic Plan (TMP) update, we will review all direction for our updated TMP. The of the ways we move: walking, cycling, papers are intended to support riding transit, driving, trucking, and conversations in the community and using trains. Our goal is to ensure that within City Hall about how we plan for we offer diverse travel options, have the future of mobility. appropriate transportation capacity, and maintain a high quality of life for The series includes the following both existing and future residents and papers, which are all available at workers. guelph.ca/tmp: The updated TMP will look at • Transportation Technology and transportation planning in Guelph New Mobility Options beyond 2031. The main objectives of • The Changing Transportation this update are: System User • To ensure that the new plan builds • Transportation and Building 21st upon current policies, including the Century Cities Official Plan and other master plans that have been approved since • Road Safety 2005; • Network Planning • To recommend new policies and • Transportation System guidelines that reflect the vision for Resilience our community and balance mobility, environment, and efficiency, while Each of the background papers opens prioritizing safety and access for all with an introductory primer on the topic travellers; and before it examines key global trends, considers how these topics and trends • To explore how new, evolving are currently addressed in Guelph, technologies and travel services will and concludes with an analysis of the shape the future of transportation in implications of that topic on planning Guelph. Guelph’s future transportation system.

Moving Guelph Forward 2 Table of Contents

New Mobility: A Primer 4

New Mobility Trends 10

New Mobility in Guelph Today 18

Moving Guelph Forward: New Mobility 20

Acknowledgements 22 New Mobility: A Primer

Over the last few decades, amidst the rapid Specifically, the paper covers: evolution of digital technologies and ever- improving connectivity, new transportation- • Ride-hailing related innovations have emerged at an • Microtransit unprecedented rate. These innovations are changing how we move, shaking up the • Micromobility transportation sector, and reshaping our cities. • Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS)

Understanding the changes in how people • E-commerce and goods move in urban environments is • Electrification critical to forecasting what transportation will look like in the future and knowing • Self-driving Technology what we should plan for. This paper discusses a number of new and emerging • Connected Mobility technology-driven changes to mobility that exist in communities today or are on the horizon.

Moving Guelph Forward 4 Starting with an introduction of each of Microtransit these technologies and new approaches, this paper discusses how they are being Microtransit - also known as “dynamic implemented around the world and outlines transit” – is a demand-responsive public what is already present in Guelph today. transit service that uses smaller vehicles The paper concludes with some key (e.g. vans, minibuses, etc.) than would takeaways about new mobility and how be expected with a conventional service. it will affect transportation plans for the Microtransit can offer on-demand or a future. form of fixed-schedule services with either dynamic or fixed routing. Within its service Ride-hailing area, microtransit may provide door-to- door service or it may have predetermined Ride-hailing is an on-demand service stops and only serve the stops where a trip offered by transportation network request is made. The scheduling, dispatch, companies (TNCs). Since the early 2010’s, software, and operational aspects of TNCs have been springing up in cities and microtransit can be operated by the public allowing individuals to use their own car to transit system, by a third-party service transport passengers for a fare that is often provider, or through a partnership between cheaper than a traditional taxi service. a local transit system and a private Ride-hailing services are typically booked company. and paid for via an app that also allows both drivers and passengers to rate each With these attributes, the microtransit other. model combines some of the flexibility of single user transportation with attributes of Uber and Lyft are the most well known a conventional public transit service. This TNCs but there are many other companies unique role presents great opportunities offering ride-sharing services. Smaller to fill in gaps in the traditional transit TNCs often tend to be limited to a specific network. local geography.

Figure 1: Visual representation of the on-demand microtransit model1

1 Reproduced from Smart Circle, “The rise of the Mircrotransit movement.”. https://www.smart-circle. org/blog/microtransit/

Moving Guelph Forward 5 The cost-effectiveness of microtransit is Micromobility dependent on its service area. Though microtransit is more convenient for the Micromobility refers to the use of light rider than conventional transit service, vehicles that can carry one or two it can also cost significantly more to passengers at a time, such as bicycles, serve the same number of riders with scooters, and even small vehicles. microtransit. The microtransit model is Micromobility can be human-powered often most economical in smaller low- or powered by an electric motor. Users density service areas where potential typically start their trip upon coming across riders are spread far apart from each other, an available device and can end their making it challenging to offer an efficient trips anywhere within a geo-fenced area, and convenient fixed-route service. leaving the shared device avialable for the next user. Access to micromobility devices is often facilitated through a smartphone app, which allows users to locate available devices, commence or terminate their trip, and pay for the service. These innovations can provide relatively low-cost and convenient options for short trips, making them especially attractive within urban centres.

Moving Guelph Forward 6 Mobility-as-a-Service MaaS also prioritizes user preference: MaaS platforms often allow users to influence route planning by indicating their Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) is an preferred trip attributes such as modes emerging user-oriented philosophy that of travel or their preference for trade-offs takes advantage of digital platforms between the number of transfers and travel and real-time data to get a user of the time. MaaS’s combination of trip planning, service from point A to point B in the most booking, and payment in one location is a convenient and personalized way possible key factor of its convenience. for one single fee.

MaaS leverages modern transportation options to optimize personal mobility. When planning a route, MaaS platforms can link transit, ride-hailing, car-sharing, micromobility, walking, and more to create one seamless trip for the user of this service.

Figure 2: Illustration of Mobility-as-a-Service2

2 Reproduced from Kivimäki, M. “MaaS-Finland on the leading edge,” Mobility as A Service Seminar and Networking Event, Ministry of Transport and Communications: Ventaa, Finland, 2014

Moving Guelph Forward 7 Delivery Services as both internal combustion and electric motors) under the EV umbrella. However, within the context of this paper, EVs refer Since the early 2000s, the ever-increasing to vehicles that run fully on electric energy convenience and choice provided by online and are either battery-powered (BEVs) or shopping has driven major changes in plug-in (PEVs). how we buy things. Today, it is easy to purchase a wide variety of things online, A shift to EVs will reduce greenhouse gas from clothes and furniture to groceries and emissions, improve air quality, and reduce meals from your favourite restaurant. The transportation-related noise in urban growing popularity of online shopping has centres. However, moving all existing resulted in customers being increasingly drivers to EVs will not reduce traffic reliant on last-mile home delivery services congestion. Electrification also still has to get their purchases to their doorstep. major hurdles to overcome in the next decades. Since range between charges Courier network service companies have continues to be a major limiting factor for emerged to meet some of these new EVs, large-scale adoption of EVs would delivery demands. These services use require significantly more public chargers online apps or platforms to facilitate than exist today. And although AVs are deliveries, which are often done by becoming more affordable, high up-front individuals using their personal vehicle or costs are still a barrier for many potential bicycle. The use of courier network services EV owners. helps improve delivery efficiency by reducing the number of individual trips and Note that electrification goes beyond the number of large vehicles required. cars. Buses, trains, and goods movement vehicles are also seeing increasing The growing options and convenience numbers of electric options, which offers offered by delivery services improve opportunities to reduce environmental the comfort and quality of life for many impacts from the public transit and people. But as more individual packages commercial transportation sectors. are being delivered to more homes at a Electrification is also occurring in smaller more frequent rate, an increasing number personal mobility devices, with the growing of delivery service vehicles are competing popularity of electric bikes (e-bikes) and with other street users for short-term electric scooters (e-scooters). Electrification parking space and curb access. The of personal mobility devices minimizes the demand-responsive nature of courier physical effort required to move, making network service fleets also makes it them more accessible for some people with challenging for professionals to forecast reduced mobility. (and thus plan for) how many of them will be on the streets on any given day. Self-driving Technology Electrification With ongoing advancements in self-driving technologies, we are steadily nearing a Electrification refers to the process of world with autonomous vehicles (AVs) shifting vehicle propulsion systems from on our roads, which will include cars, fossil fuels to electricity. Driving personal transit, and commercial vehicles. Although electric vehicles (EVs) allows individuals fully automated vehicles are still a future to enjoy the convenience and comfort technology, each year introduces a wider of a personal car while reducing their range of automated functions to assist environmental impact. Some people group drivers. These include lane keeping assist, hybrid vehicles (i.e. vehicles that use adaptive cruise control, and self-parking. two or more distinct types of power, such

Moving Guelph Forward 8 Driving automation systems encompass a range of features that perform part of or the entire task of driving. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAR), a globally active engineering association, describes six levels of driver assistance technology, as shown in Table 1. In this classification, Level 0 refers to no automation while Level 5 refers to full automation under all conditions. With existing technologies that are available to the public, some vehicles today operate within the middle levels of automation.

Table 1: Summary of Levels of Vehicle Automation3

Levels of Who Does What and When Automation Level 0 The human driver does all the driving. Level 1 An advanced driver assistance system on the vehicle can sometimes assist the human driver with steering or braking/ accelerating, but not both simultaneously. Level 2 An advanced driver assistance system on the vehicle can control both steering and braking/accelerating simultaneously by itself under some circumstances. The human driver must continue to pay full attention (i.e. “monitor the driving environment”) at all times and perform the rest of the driving tasks. Level 3 An automated driving system (ADS) in the vehicle can perform all aspects of driving tasks by itself under some circumstances. In those circumstances, the human driver must be ready to take back control at any time when the ADS requests the human driver to do so. In all other circumstances, the human driver performs the driving task. Level 4 An automated driving system on the vehicle can perform all driving tasks and monitor the driving environment (essentially, do all the driving) by itself under certain circumstances. The human need not pay attention in those circumstances. Level 5 An automated driving system on the vehicle can do all of the driving in all circumstances. The human occupants are just passengers and never need to be involved in driving.

AVs require a suite of technologies to operate autonomously. While some of these exist today, many others are at various stages of testing and development. Figure 3 summarizes the technologies that AVs require.

3 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, US Department of Transportation,Automated Vehicles for Safety. https://www.nhtsa.gov/technology-innovation/automated-vehicles-safety

Moving Guelph Forward 9 Figure 3: Illustration demonstrating self-driving car technology4 Connected Mobility Network connectivity in transportation can be used to:

We are living in an increasingly connected • Implement dynamic speed limits; world. The past decade has seen a rise of “smart” versions of many everyday objects • Manage parking; like watches, thermostats, or doorbells. These connected devices share data with • Implement congestion pricing; other devices to offer additional convenient • Manage traffic incidents; features to everyday life. This system of connection to and between everyday • Provide transit priority in response to items via the internet is referred to as the real-time conditions; and/or Internet of Things (IoT). • Adjust traffic signals in real time. IoT encompasses more than just household objects. Increased connectivity within the Connectivity of individual vehicles to a transportation network has the potential larger network will also likely be a key to transform the way we move. Today’s feature in AV fleets to enable safe and wireless networks have the abilities to efficient movement as well as to serve as connect cars, buses, scooters, trucks, a back-up mechanism if individual vehicles trains, traffic signals, cell phones, and fail. other mobility technologies to each other, Adding more devices to the IoT allows for increasing communication between these greater interaction between devices and objects and devices. generates larger amounts of data, which Connected mobility has the potential to can help better inform important societal reduce collisions, improve safety, improve decisions. However, the ever-growing roadway efficiency, and provide continuous volume of new data requires protection real-time data to travellers. and careful management to ensure that people’s privacy and personal information are not being exploited.

4 Landmark Dividend, “Self-Driving Car Technology: How Do Self-Driving Cars Work?” https://www.landmarkdividend.com/self-driving-car/

Moving Guelph Forward 10 New Mobility Trends Many of these innovative approaches to Microtransit daily travel introduced in the previous section are already being implemented in Microtransit services have been appearing communities across the world. This section in cities around the world. These include outlines some implementation case studies dedicated on-demand shuttles or minivans and corresponding key takeaways from and ride-sharing services offered by each one. TNCs, as described previously. The Town of Innisfil in currently provides Ride-hailing its entire “public transit” service through a contract with Uber. Meanwhile, Calgary Today, various ride-hailing services are Transit has been piloting the use of available on all inhabited continents. minibuses to provide on-demand service in However, the introduction of these select neighbourhoods with low population services have often posed challenges for densities or low ridership levels since 2019. a variety of communities. Transportation ’s service connects riders network companies (TNCs) have often in these neighbourhoods to nearby transit arrived in cities on their own schedule, hubs, using the same fare that applies for leaving municipalities scrambling to draft the rest of the system. new regulations, construct supporting infrastructure, and ensure fair competition A challenge for many communities is for the local taxi industry. Several Canadian figuring out how microtransit can be cities, including Calgary, Edmonton, integrated with conventional public Vancouver, and Winnipeg, banned TNCs transit service so that microtransit outright until they could draft up rules and supports conventional service rather than frameworks for how these new companies competes with it. Riders typically enjoy the could operate within their municipality. convenience of an on-demand microtransit service. However, if the service’s popularity In addition to ride-hailing, some TNCs causes ridership to grow significantly, it now offer ride-sharing services such as may become more cost effective to switch UberPool and Lyft Shared in select cities. to a fixed route service. This switch may Ride-sharing services optimize a single cause a backlash from riders who have trip by completing pick-ups and drop-offs grown accustomed to on-demand service. for multiple passengers traveling in the Microtransit may also require higher fares same general direction. Since it reduces to cover the operational costs of an on- the convenience of an individual rider by demand service but having different fares increasing their trip length, ride-sharing within the same transit system may create trips have cheaper fares than individualized a confusing experience or contribute to ride-hailing trips. Ride-sharing services are inequity for different users. considered to be a form of microtransit by some people.

Moving Guelph Forward 11 Micromobility Despite some concerns, the use of micromobility is growing in popularity. In a review of 84 million shared micromobility Over the last few years, micromobility trips from across the United States of devices have popped up in cities across the America (USA), the National Association of world, typically during the warmer months City Transportation Officials (NACTO) found of the year. While some people celebrate that the number of trips taken in 2018 the utility of these devices, others raise were more than double the number taken concerns about the nuisances they may in 2017. The same study found that most cause. Dockless bikes and scooters offer micromobility trips were 4 kilometres (km) riders convenience and improved first mile/ or shorter in length and 25 minutes or last mile connectivity. However, residents shorter in duration. Additionally, NACTO’s of many communities express their study found that within micromobility, dissatisfaction over micromobility devices bikesharing was used more often for being carelessly operated on sidewalks or commuting purposes, first mile/last left scattered across the city. mile connections, and social trips while scooter-sharing was used more often for recreational or exercise purposes. 5

5 National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), 2019,Shared Micromobility in the US. https://nacto.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/NACTO_Shared-Micromobility-in-2018_Web.pdf

Moving Guelph Forward 12 Municipalities that offer micromobility Mobility-as-a-Service services are taking one of three different approaches: Whim is a successful Mobility-as-a-Service 1. Keeping these services privately (MaaS) platform that currently operates owned and operated in Helsinki, Finland. Instead of paying for a car or a bus pass, Whim users pay for • BIXI Montreal, a bike-sharing a monthly plan that offers them access to service, is owned and operated by a wide variety of transportation options the City of Montreal including rental cars, taxis, bike-share, and public transit all in one app. In addition • Bike Share is owned and operated by the Toronto Parking to Whim, MaaS platform pilots are also Authority being carried out in other European cities including Amsterdam, Madrid, Vienna, 2. Enabling third-party providers to Zurich, Birmingham, Amsterdam, Munich, operate micromobility services and Berlin. So far, implementation of MaaS within their jurisdiction platform pilots has been generally limited to dense urban centres. • Private providers Lime, Bird, and Roll operate their e-scooters in In North America, the free Transit app is Calgary and Ottawa during the integrated with ride-hailing, car-sharing, summer months and microtransit in supported regions. The free app offers users route planning 3. Building public-private partnerships services based on real-time public transit for ownership and operation of data. When offering suggested routes, it these services also presents options that combine transit • The Sobi bike-share service with cycling or shared modes and displays in Hamilton received capital the estimated cost for the overall trip. The investments from and app is linked to other provider platforms, the City of Hamilton but is owned making it easier for a user to pay for all and operated by Social Bicycles legs of a multimodal trip. • The bike-share service So far, MaaS platform providers have in Vancouver received capital been private entities. But public-private investments from the City of partnerships may be the key to the success Vancouver but is owned and and more widespread implementation of operated by Vancouver Bike Share MaaS platforms. Municipalities alone do not operate the wide variety of transportation Regardless of the ownership and options that would make a MaaS platform cooperation model used, municipalities successful. But at the same time, individual usually have to update their regulations private service providers may not always and policies to accommodate these new see the benefit of partnering with each services prior to introducing them. other to develop and maintain a MaaS platform without additional incentives. Furthermore, full privatization of MaaS platforms can create issues as communities become more dependent on them since private corporations are not held accountable to the general public.

Moving Guelph Forward 13 Delivery Services Curbside Management Strategies for Improving Transit Mobility, respectively. Common tools for curb space management Today, e-commerce is a massive global used by some municipalities include: industry. By 2021, e-commerce sales are expected to account for 17.5 per cent of • The reallocation of curb space for 6 total global retail sales. Our changing specific uses like bike lanes and bus shopping habits are reducing the number stops; of trips individuals make to traditional brick and mortar retail while also increasing • Using automated enforcement; the number of trips made by delivery bicycles and vehicles on shorter schedules. • Flexible parking pricing according to Delivery vehicles and bicycles have to actual usage; and make frequent curbside stops for short • Dedicated loading areas and regulations to medium lengths of time. The impacts on delivery times. of this are seen in many municipalities, where curbside space is at an increasing Technology is also being harnessed to minimum, particularly in downtown analyze data and map curbside activity environments. Limited opportunities for in order to identify where and when parking are resulting in more delinquent parking and loading is available. Some behaviour by some delivery drivers that new platforms and apps use real-time data impedes the flows of pedestrian, cyclist, to help drivers find long-term parking, and/or vehicle traffic. delivery vehicles find short-term parking, or cities better understand and manage A growing number of municipalities across their curbside demands. North America and around the world are developing ways to manage curb space. Meanwhile, shipping and logistics Both the Institute of Transportation companies are constantly developing more Engineers (ITE) and the National efficient ways to deliver products. The Association of City Transportation Officials impacts of emerging innovations like large- (NACTO) have published guidance for scale drone deliveries on the transportation curb space management in recent years. network are still unknown but are These include the Curbside Management anticipated to further change transportation Practitioners Guide and Curb Appeal: in cities.

6 Statista, 2020, “E-commerce share of total global retail sales from 2015 to 2023.” https:// www.statista.com/statistics/534123/e-commerce-share-of-retail-sales-worldwide/

Moving Guelph Forward 14 Electrification There are three levels of EV charging stations: Sales of personal electric vehicles (EVs) are growing. In Canada, sales of both Level 1 – These are the lowest voltage plug-in and battery-powered EVs have charging stations. Level 1 chargers are essentially standard wall outlets. They take risen exponentially over the last few years, many hours to fully charge a car and are from 3,254 units sold in 2013 to 34,357 most suited for post-commute overnight 7 units sold in 2018. A similar trend is seen parking. worldwide: Deloitte reports that 2018 was a record year for EV sales, with two million Level 2 – There are most commonly units sold around the world, and forecasts available as public chargers today. They that an additional 21 million EVs will be on have relatively higher voltages but still take several hours to fully charge an electric car. the road globally by 2030.8 Level 3 – There charging stations offer To support EV usage, governments are the highest voltage and can typically fully constructing more public charging stations charge a car in an hour or less. However, and offering incentives for the purchase these are not commonly available as public of EVs or investment in EV infrastructure. chargers. Additionally, not every EV on the Since 2019, Transport Canada has offered road today is compatible with a Level 3 a $2,500 to $5,000 rebate for the purchase charging station. of eligible zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs), which include EVs. Provincial governments in British Columbia and Quebec also offer additional rebates for the purchase of new or used EVs and for the installation of personal charging stations. In Ontario, vehicles with a green license plate (obtained during registration of eligible vehicles like EVs) are permitted to use High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes on provincial highways even if there is only one person in the car.

EV technologies are also continuously improving and offering further ranges of travel between charges. However, EV drivers continue to be limited by the range of their vehicles. Electric charging stations are not nearly as widely available as gas stations. And when chargers are available, users cannot expect to fully “refuel” their EV in a short period of time as they would with a 5-minute stop at the gas station. Even the fastest EV chargers today take about an hour to fully charge a car and most public charging stations do not offer the fastest available chargers.

7 FleetCarma, 2018, “Electric vehicles sales update Q3 2018, Canada.” https:// www.fleetcarma.com/electric-vehicles-sales-update-q3-2018-canada/ 8 Deloitte, 2019, “21 million more electric vehicles expected worldwide by 2030.” https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/press-releases/articles/21- million-more-electric-vehicles-expected-worldwide-by-2030.html

Moving Guelph Forward 15 Self-driving Technology The following are some current trends and possible scenarios of a future with AVs.

While autonomous technology is evolving Safety and security: AVs have the rapidly, autonomous vehicles (AVs) are not possibility to dramatically improve road yet ready for widespread implementation. safety as they eliminate driver error Fully autonomous vehicles do not currently and reaction time. In theory, AVs could operate on public roads anywhere, with the dramatically reduce car-related fatalities exception of some small-scale pilots within and injuries since human drivers would narrowly-defined areas, usually in warm no longer be in control. However, the climates and with predictable geography. algorithms and programs that will run As a result, there is still considerable these vehicles will be developed by humans uncertainty about how AVs will affect travel and thus incorporate the biases and moral demands, mode shares, the allocation of perspectives of their creators. When AVs road space, or demands for parking. may be forced to respond to impossible choices such as hitting a pedestrian to Among transportation professionals, there avoid a head-on collision against hitting has been significant effort to predict the the oncoming vehicle and injuring the car impacts of self-driving technologies before passenger, their response will depend on they become mainstream. Informed the input of their programming. hypotheses can help communities prepare so that the potential benefits of AVs are maximized while the unintended consequences are minimized.

Moving Guelph Forward 16 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and pollution associated with driving. However, the electrification of AVs may require more charging stations and more frequent charging since some of their power will be consumed by additional hardware and software. Otherwise, the cars may need to be powered by a combination of electric power and other fuels, which may lessen the environmental benefit.

Private vs. shared ownership: There are two distinct visions for a wide-scale deployment of AVs. In the first scenario, today’s cars owners become tomorrow’s AV owners, largely replicating the current model of personal vehicle ownership. In this future, the number of vehicles on the As with any connected digital technology, road networks stays the same or increases cybersecurity is a major consideration as more people invest in AVs due to their for AVs. Relinquishing driver control to convenience. As a result, congestion will software makes car occupants susceptible not be eased by the arrival of AVs and to hacker overrides. With the current rise demand for parking at major destinations of software security breaches, individual will increase dramatically. If parking is AVs or AV fleets will need to be designed unavailable, empty AVs may travel home and operated in a way that ensures the until they are recalled by their owner or security of their operations and the safety be forced to continuously circle on roads of their occupants. Actors with nefarious while waiting for their owners. This will put motives should not be able to completely more vehicles on the road outside of peak shut down the transportation network of a periods of travel and increase the annual given community or compromise the safety number of vehicle-kilometres-travelled of users. (VKT) on our roads.

Finally, AVs will not conquer our roads Alternatively, shared mobility and AV overnight. From the perspective of road technology could converge to create a safety, the most challenging period for AV model where personal ownership of AVs is deployment will likely occur during the minimized. Fleets of AVs could be owned transition to widespread adoption, when by private (e.g. TNCs) or public entities there is a mixture of fully-autonomous who offer on-demand AV service through vehicles and vehicles still driven by humans ride-hailing or ride-sharing. This version of on the roads. During this transitional the future will not require as much parking period, the mindset and priorities of the as the first scenario though fleets will different groups of vehicle operators require dedicated garage and maintenance may not be aligned with each other. And facilities. Additionally, this version of if human drivers are not accustomed to the future doesn’t prohibit people from sharing roads with AVs, misunderstanding experiencing the benefits of AVs if they of intention and unintended conflicts may cannot or choose not to purchase a arise. personal AV. However, shared mobility is ultimately less convenient than private Environment: It is likely that all AVs will ownership and availability of AVs for be electrically powered when the industry everyone who needs a ride would fluctuate reaches full automation. If this turns with demand. out to be true, AVs would help eliminate

Moving Guelph Forward 17 Public perception: Today, nearly 50 per Many municipal governments are also cent of people still believe that fully self- completing studies to understand how AVs driving cars will not be safe and less than will affect travel in their communities and 50per cent of people think that “travelling what infrastructure needs to be in place in a fully self-driving car will be a positive when AVs arrive to maximize their benefits: experience.”9 But societal attitudes may adjust as AVs become more sophisticated • The City of Calgary has recently and as more people embrace autonomous completed a Future of Transportation in technologies. With full automation, people’s Calgary report that looks at the possible attention will no longer be required to impacts, opportunities, and risks of operate a vehicle. This can turn commutes various new mobility technologies into useful time during which commuters including AVs. can work, carry out recreational activities, • The City of Ottawa has invested in test or even nap. These added opportunities track facilities for autonomous vehicle during commutes may change public technologies. perception towards AVs. They can also have a significant impact on how and when • The City of Toronto has developed an people travel as well as where they decide Automated Vehicles Tactical Plan that to live. contains detailed policies, actions, and measurable objectives for the City to Preparing with policy: Municipal, 2022. It also compiles a detailed list provincial, state, and federal governments of knowledge gaps and direction to around the world are actively developing complete further research in anticipation policies and regulatory frameworks to of AV deployment. accommodate AVs by considering the various possible future scenarios. At the start of 2019, Transport Canada released two documents: Canada’s Safety Framework for Automated and Connected Vehicles and Safety Assessment for Automated Driving Systems in Canada. The release of these reports signaled federal support for the acceleration of a safe introduction of automated and connected vehicles on Canadian roads.

In Canada, Ontario is leading the way on regulatory framework for and testing of AV technologies. In January 2019, the Ontario Government expanded the rules of Ontario’s 10-year Automated Vehicle Pilot Program (originally launched in 2016). The expansion allows cars equipped with Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Level 3 technology to operate on public roads in the province provided that there is a passenger on board who can take control of the vehicle if required. It also allows for testing of completely driverless AVs under strict conditions.

9 Deloitte, 2019, 2019 Global Automotive Consumer Study. https://www2.deloitte.com/us/ en/pages/manufacturing/articles/automotive-trends-millennials-consumer-study.html

Moving Guelph Forward 18 were completed on test roads and in laboratory test environments, using sensors in roads to collect and analyze data. Test vehicles in these trials also used wireless internet to share information and communicate with each other through a central communications hub.

• The City of Ottawa’s test track facilities for autonomous vehicle technologies also support studies and testing of A driverless shuttle at the University of Michigan's Mcity Test facility in Ann Arbor connected mobility technologies like MI. Source: University of Michigan traffic signal coordination. • At a demonstration lab in Vienna and through a pilot study in Germany, Connected Mobility vehicles are being connected to road infrastructure and traffic control centers Computer control of traffic signals allows to manage congestion in real-time. many municipalities to set traffic signal timing plans that change by time of day While very beneficial to municipalities to accommodate different traffic patterns for transportation system management, or demands. Traffic engineers also use connected mobility technologies are preemption, a practice that temporarily also helpful to individual users of a manipulates traffic signal timing plans that transportation system. Ever more powerful are already in effect. This practice can help traveller information systems like Google enable priority for emergency vehicles, Maps are helping travelers optimize their certain movements, or certain modes. routes and avoid congestion. And car Existing traffic signal technologies can now manufacturers are continuously integrating be augmented by in-system detection of car to car communication and other traffic volumes and patterns that set up connected features into new car models. optimal signal timing when coordinated For example, General Motors (GM) is with other real-time data from across the equipping new models with technology city. that enables communication with other similar models to help to detect potential As technology becomes more sophisticated, upcoming hazards, like slippery roads. cities are also experimenting with more elements of connected transportation The proliferation of fifth generation (5G) network: mobile networks, is anticipated to be a key driver in the advancement of connected • Many cities already have transit vehicles mobility technology as it will provide the that communicate with each other. necessary cellular bandwidth and internet In Canada, examples of this include speed for more and better connection. TransLink’s driverless Skytrains in Vancouver and automatic train control Several of the emerging transportation in the Toronto Transit Commission technologies and options discussed in this (TTC’s) subway system. paper have already made their way to Guelph. This section provides an overview • Recently, the City of Vancouver and the of the options that are available today City of Edmonton held pilot programs in and the roles they play in our existing partnership with academia and industry transportation system. to experiment with different connected mobility technologies. These pilots

Moving Guelph Forward 19 New Mobility in Guelph Today Ride-hailing Micromobility

In 2015, Guelph’s City Council approved There are currently no shared micromobility ride-hailing operations under a set of platforms or services operating within predetermined rules and conditions. The Guelph rules include criminal background checks, having $3-million insurance for each vehicle, annual safety checks for vehicles, Mobility-as-a-Service and inability to accept street hails or cash There are currently no services using the fares like regular taxis. MaaS philosophy being offered in Guelph. Today, Uber operates in Guelph. Guelph falls within Uber’s southwestern Ontario Delivery Services service area, which also includes London, Waterloo Region, and Hamilton. Like other cities, Guelph has experienced the increased popularity of courier network Microtransit services, increased delivery truck traffic within the city, and a resulting increased There is currently no microtransit service demand for curb space, particularly in being offered in Guelph. However, Guelph downtown. The City anticipates that Transit is currently using elements of if current trends continue, increased microtransit for Transit Mobility Services, demands for short-stay loading will have to its accessible transit service. For this be rationalized with other demands for curb service, Guelph Transit has partnered space. with a third-party technology provider for automated dispatch and routing to make Electrification the service more efficient.

Just outside of the city, Wellington County Guelph’s Community Energy Initiative (CEI) is currently piloting RIDE WELL, a publicly - the City’s ambitious plan for reducing funded county-wide on-demand rural energy use and GHG emissions - was first transit service. RIDE WELL uses full-time set up in 2007. In 2018, CEI set a target drivers and dedicated vehicles to provide of having Guelph produce net zero carbon door-to-door service to and from any emissions by 2050. The CEI task force address in the County. RIDE WELL also provided 20 potential actions for the City to provides door-to-door service to and from help Guelph achieve this target. any address in the City of Guelph provided that the trip starts or ends in Wellington County. Trips can be booked via an app, website, or toll-free number. The on- demand service optimizes routing to get as many people to their destinations with as few vehicles and trips as possible.

Moving Guelph Forward 20 The list of actions included electrification of Connected Mobility transit, electrification of the municipal fleet, and encouraged/incentivized electrification Similar to many other municipalities, of personal vehicles. Guelph uses traffic signal preemption In 2012, Guelph was one of the first at select intersections for Fire Services Canadian communities to install an electric emergency vehicles. Preemption is used vehicle charging station. Today, there to halt conflicting movements in advance are over 20 public charging ports within of the emergency vehicle arriving at the 15 kilometres (km) of the city. In 2016, intersection. This helps improve emergency Guelph also had 10 per cent more battery response times and makes the roads safer electric vehicles (including hybrids) than for everyone. The City does not currently the provincial average. have any other forms of traffic signal priority measures. In January 2020, Guelph Transit announced that it will replace 35 older diesel buses This fall, the City will be piloting new traffic with electric buses, add 30 brand new counting and detection technologies. These electric buses to their fleet, install on-route technologies will enable the City to have charging infrastructure, and construct a real-time traffic counts at select locations new bus storage and maintenance facility during all hours of the day. Having real- with electric charging stations. time traffic data will help the City make more informed operational decisions about Self-driving Technology its transportation network.

Like in the rest of the country, no fully autonomous vehicles operate on public roads in Guelph today.

Moving Guelph Forward 21 Moving Guelph Forward: New Mobility

Transportation is affected by the rapid • The popularity of online shopping rate of technological innovation and is constantly growing and causing advancement in our society. New personalized goods movement technologies and new mobility options are to become more important to changing how people and goods move communities. Effective curbside through their communities. These changes management is crucial to ensuring generally make life more convenient but efficient delivery services while also their disruptive nature can negatively preventing conflicts with other modes. impact transportation networks that are not ready for sudden change. To • Electrification of transportation options embrace the future of transportation and is critical to helping communities reach ensure a transition that is as seamless as their emissions-related sustainability possible, we have to build communities goals. However, electrification alone that are ready for and supportive of these will not solve all of the other problems anticipated changes. associated with a dependence on cars.

Based on the trends, best practices, and • Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are on existing conditions outlined in this paper, the horizon but the industry has not the following is a list of key takeaways reached full automation yet. Since the about emerging transportation technologies precise impacts of AVs remain unknown and new mobility: at this time, planning for different AV deployment scenarios is the best way • The various new and emerging to maximize their benefits when they mobility options such as ride-hailing, arrive. microtransit, and micromobility have the potential to improve daily transportation • Connected - or “smart” - features for many people. However, their of transportation make travel more sudden presence in a community can convenient. The data collected through be disruptive. Before permitting their these features can help decision-makers operation, policymakers and planners make more informed choices than ever should seek to maximize their benefit before. But regulatory frameworks without negatively affecting other and privacy protections are needed to modes of travel. prevent exploitation of this data.

• With so many new and emerging • The City is already implementing options for travel, Mobility-as-a-Service some new technologies and mobility (MaaS) platforms present opportunities options into Guelph’s transportation to seamlessly integrate trips across network. However, there are still many different modes. Though growing in opportunities to use transportation popularity, these platforms are still innovations to fill in network gaps and relatively rare and offered only by improve mobility in Guelph. private entities. Support or partnerships from the public sector may help MaaS reach its full potential.

Moving Guelph Forward 22 What do you think?

What does the future of transportation in Guelph look like? How will the movement of people and goods in Guelph change over the next several years? What should planners and policymakers do to ensure that new transportation technologies and innovations provide the most benefit to residents?

Let us know! Visit guelph.ca/tmp to learn more about the transportation topics and trends informing the development of our Transportation Master Plan and to find out how you can have your say on Moving Guelph Forward.

Moving Guelph Forward 23 Acknowledgements

City of Guelph

Jennifer Juste, Project Manager

With support from: David de Groot, Liraz Fridman, Tyson McMann, Rory Templeton, Benita van Miltenburg, Jamie Zettle

Consultant Team - Dillon Consulting Limited

Shawn Doyle, Project Manager Mariam Bello, Project Coordinator/Primary Author

With support from: Jeff Axisa, Nicole Beuglet, Morgan Boyco, Maria King, Adam Lanigan, and Kristin Lillyman

Moving Guelph Forward 24